The Disruptive Nature of Technology

Web 2.0 and other emerging technologies invite exploration, innovation, and building with “small pieces loosely joined.” Yet those opportunities can disrupt traditional academic processes that undervalue amateur participation, discourage faculty from venturing outside their realm of primary expertise, and look to “enterprise solutions” for administrative convenience. Can the academy include “half-baked ideas” in its core mission and processes? This session will address these issues from the perspectives of an insider (teacher, scholar, and administrator) and an IT professional outside the academy. Brief introductory remarks will be followed by robust discussion.